Senior Art Director

AKQA Media; Dubai; Hybrid; AED 120,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading creative agency in Dubai is seeking a Senior Art Director to guide the visual direction across campaigns and platforms. The ideal candidate will possess a strong portfolio in art direction and visual storytelling, and have experience leading creative teams. Responsibilities include shaping narratives through visuals, mentoring junior staff, and ensuring high-quality outputs. This role offers a hybrid work environment fostering creativity and collaboration.

Qualifications

• Portfolio demonstrating world-class art direction and visual storytelling.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary creative teams.

Responsibilities

• Guide the visual direction across campaigns and platforms.
• Shape narratives through visuals and composition.
• Mentor juniors and elevate creative quality.

Skills

Visual storytelling

Composition

Aesthetic conviction

Leadership

Creativity

Job description

At AKQA, we believe in the imaginative application of art, technology, and human insight to create meaningful experiences that shape the future. With an entrepreneurial and experimental mindset, we design ideas, products, and environments that don’t just communicate, they transform how people live, feel, and connect.

As a Senior Art Director, you will guide the visual direction across campaigns, platforms, identity expressions, film, social content, and integrated communication. You will lead multidisciplinary teams to develop world‑class ideas, elevate craft, and ensure every visual output feels intentional, distinctive, and culturally resonant.

You have a strong point of view, a refined sense of taste, and a deep understanding of how design and storytelling create meaning. You lead through inspiration, clarity, and creative pressure.

At AKQA you will have access to world‑renowned thought leadership. You will work in an environment which fosters a meritocratic culture and encourages ownership, and you will be surrounded by some of the brightest minds in their fields.

ROLE REQUIREMENTS

• Direct with aesthetic conviction. You define the visual heartbeat of the idea, the mood, the palette, the rhythm, the cinematic energy, and you pull teams toward a stronger, sharper story through visuals.
• Lead with creative hunger. Drive concepts, visuals, and design systems with the energy of a maker and the ambition of a leader, pushing every idea to be braver, sharper, and more culturally relevant.
• Be a storyteller with taste. Shape narratives through visuals, composition, rhythm, and emotion, not just decoration. Every frame, layout, and edit must convey intention, story, and meaning.
• Craft with obsession. Whether it’s a platform identity, a film, a digital experience, a product UI, or a prototype, treat details like a signature. Your work should feel unmistakably world‑class.
• Think beyond the screen. Build ideas that live as acts, installations, products, content ecosystems, and tech‑enabled experiences, not just campaigns. Bring innovation and experimentation into the room naturally.
• Make ideas PR‑able by design. Create visuals and concepts that earn cultural attention, not just meet a brief. Understand what travels regionally and globally, and design for impact.
• Elevate the room. Bring energy, references, inspiration, and ideas that push the team forward. Mentor juniors, shape thinking, and help raise the studio’s creative temperature.
• Challenge the brief, respectfully. Ask the questions others don’t. Find the tension, expose the opportunity, and push for the version of the work that truly moves people.
• Guard the quality. Be accountable for every output. Ensure every visual, layout, prototype, and film frame meets AKQA’s global standards and reflects the studio’s ambition.
• Mentor with generosity and pressure. You teach taste, discipline, and ambition. You show juniors what “good” looks like, and what “great” could be with two more pushes.
• Guard the quality with obsession. Every piece of communication that leaves the studio carries your imprint of excellence, consistent, intentional, unmistakably AKQA.
• Lead with informed curiosity. Stay attuned to visual culture, design movements, platform behaviours, emerging tools, and evolving aesthetics.

QUALITIES AND CHARACTERISTICS

• A portfolio demonstrating world‑class art direction, visual storytelling, and integrated campaign craft and ideation.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary creative teams in communication‑based environments.
• Strong sense of taste, composition, and storytelling through visuals.
• Deep cultural awareness, curiosity, and an experimental mindset.
• Passion for pushing boundaries in mediums, formats, platforms, and ways of experiencing ideas.
• Confident communicator, clear, inspiring, and articulate.
• Passion for innovation, experimentation, and continually elevating craft.

Explore our extensive range of benefits here.

We believe great work happens when we’re together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That’s why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach including required in‑office days. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.

AKQA is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.